news

The October 12 article headlined “CCBC drops one community center option and asks for another” mischaracterized the nature of one of the community center options as well as the December 2 Special Town Meeting vote. The third option now being formulated is not based on the 50% option but rather on the 75% one-story option which would be trimmed in size and cost. Also, a two-thirds majority is not required at the vote on a preferred option at the STM in December. However, that margin will be required to approve a funding request for the project in March 2024. The original article has been updated.

The October 11 article that was originally headlined “Town moves forward with affordable housing zoning option, but another may be coming” had a misleading headline. It has been corrected to read: “Town moves forward with Housing Choice zoning option, but another may be coming.” Other corrections were made to clarify the characterization of the proposed Village Center subdistrict, and to state that the idea of a December 2 nonbinding “sense of the town” vote on the options  was suggested but not confirmed.

September 30

Twin Pond Lane (3:46 a.m.) — A resident called to ask an officer check the area after their doorbell was activated. Police checked the area but were unable to locate anyone.

Concord Road (9:47 a.m.) — A resident reported their mailbox was struck.

Codman Road (5:30 p.m.) — A vehicle had stopped on the side of the roadway with their hazard lights activated. An officer checked on the occupants. They had stopped to take some pictures.

Lexington Road (5:36 p.m.) — MassDOT was notified about a deceased deer off to the side of the road on Route 2.

North Great Road (8:40 p.m.) — An officer observed a parked, unoccupied vehicle in the Paul Revere Lot.

Old Winter Street (9:05 p.m.) — SiriusXM notified dispatch of a possible stolen motor vehicle in the area of Winter Street and then Route 2. Massachusetts State Police were notified.

Cambridge Turnpike eastbound (9:28 p.m.) — An officer observe a vehicle pass through a red light on Route 2 east. The officer stopped the vehicle and had the operator perform a series of field tests. The operator, April Prewitt, 60, of Concord, was subsequently arrested for operating under the influence of liquor.

South Great Road (9:53 p.m.) — Police responded to South Great Road in the area of Bowles Terrace for a report of a single-vehicle crash. Weston Police eventually stopped the vehicle in their town after the vehicle had fled the scene. The operator of the vehicle, Esther Hur, 31, of New York, N.Y., was arrested and subsequently charged with operating under the influence of liquor, leaving the scene of a property damage crash, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, and a marked lanes violation.

October 1

Nothing of note.

October 2

Weston Road (3:13 p.m.) — A motorist called to report that their vehicle was disabled and that they were having difficulty contacting a tow company. Police responded and assisted the motorist.

Sandy Pond Road (3:58 p.m.) — The Fire Department investigated an odor of natural gas in the area of 51 Sandy Pond Road. National Grid was notified.

Twin Pond Lane (4:44 p.m.) — A caller inquired about a suspicious message that was left on their voicemail service.

Ryan Estate (5:33 p.m.) — A caller inquired about a past incident.

Weston Road (5:57 p.m.) — Police assisted a stranded motorist while their vehicle was being towed from the roadway.

Cambridge Turnpike eastbound (6:27 p.m.) — MassDOT was contacted to retrieve a deceased deer on the side of the roadway.

Hillside Road (11:35 p.m.) — Lincoln Police assisted the Salem, N.H. police with a follow-up investigation.

October 3

Cambridge Turnpike eastbound (7:27 a.m.) — A two-vehicle crash was reported. Massachusetts State Police responded and booked the crash.

Codman Road (3:50 p.m.) — Police responded for a truck that had lost a ladder. Police found the item and removed it from the roadway.

Main Street, Wayland (4:03 p.m.) — The Lincoln Fire Department responded to multi-alarm fire in Wayland. Click here for details.

MBTA station (4:24 p.m.) — A lost wedding band was discovered at the train station and turned in to the police.

Kettle Hole Drive (5:47 p.m.) — An individual reported that a dog had charged at them while walking on Kettle Hole Drive but did not make contact with them. Animal Control was notified.

October 4

South Great Road (1:22 a.m.) — Motorists reported that the railroad gates on South Great Road, Old Sudbury Road, and Tower Road were stuck in the “down” position. Keolis was notified and stated that the gates would remain down for approximately 10 minutes while service was being done to another section of track. Officers remained on scene for the duration.

Old Cambridge Turnpike (5:54 p.m.) — Police responded to a residence for a landlord/tenant dispute.

North Great Road (6:03 p.m.) — A Minuteman National Park Ranger requested assistance with a disabled motor vehicle on the side of Route 2A.

Old County Road (6:46 p.m.) — A motorist reported that they moved an injured turtle from the roadway. Animal Control was notified.

North Great Road (7:19 p.m.) — Police responded to assist a disabled motorist.

October 5

Old Cambridge Turnpike (7:13 am.) — Police responded to the residence for a landlord/tenant dispute.

Trapelo Road (7:29 a.m.) — An individual called to report that their dog was missing. The dog was located a short time later and reunited with their owner.

Warbler Springs Road (8:21 a.m.) — A caller reported seeing a vehicle in the area several times over the past few days. Police responded but were unable to locate the vehicle. The caller was advised to contact the police should the vehicle return.

Baker Farm Road (9:28 a.m.) — An odor of natural gas was reported in the area of the Carroll School. The Fire Department and National Grid were notified.

The Commons of Lincoln (10:01 a.m.) — A lost item was turned into the Police Department.

Giles Road (10:19 a.m.) — A representative investigating a gas odor reported that the gas will dissipate shortly.

South Great Road (10:52 a.m.) — A motorist reported the railroad gates were malfunctioning earlier in the day as they passed through. Keolis was notified.

Lincoln Police Department (11:30 a.m.) — An individual reported some missing items that were either stolen from their vehicle in another town or had fallen into the roadway.

South Great Road (2:04 p.m.) — An additional report of the railroad gates malfunctioning on South Great Road was reported, similar to the previous. Keolis was notified.

October 6

MBTA station (11:43 am.) — A parking ticket was issued to an illegally parked motor vehicle in the commuter lot.

Birchwood Lane (1:14 p.m.) — An officer responded to a residence for a possible larceny.

Old Sudbury Road (5:15 p.m.) — Officers responded to a report of a single-vehicle crash and discovered a vehicle had crashed into a utility pole. The operator, who was not injured, was cited for unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and a marked lanes violation. The vehicle was towed from the scene.

Oxbow Road (6:41 p.m.) — Police received a report of a single-vehicle crash involving a deer. Upon arrival, police were unable to locate the vehicle. Several attempts were made to contact the reporting party but were not successful.

Walden Street, Concord (7:31 p.m.) — Lincoln Police assisted Concord Police with an ongoing incident.

South Great Road (8:1 p.m.) — Lincoln Police assisted Concord Police with an ongoing incident.

Conant Road (9:30 p.m.) —Lincoln Police assisted Lowell Police with an ongoing incident.

October 7

Pierce House (3:46 a.m.) — A parked, unoccupied vehicle was observed in the Pierce House parking lot.

South Great Road (3:04 p.m.) — A bicyclist required medical attention after a non-collision-related fall. The cyclist was transported to the hospital.

Bedford Lane (3:44 p.m.) — A caller reported possibly being the victim of fraud.

By Sara Mattes

Avis and her husband Bernard lived in the historic 1818 Hoar house on Weston Road, across from the Pierce House. Bernard DeVoto was an author of a series of popular histories of the American West (including the Pulitzer-Prize-winning Across the Wide Missouri), as well as books on Mark Twain and a regular column, “The Easy Chair,” in Harper’s Magazine.

It was one of Bernard’s “Easy Chair” articles, an essay on the poor quality of American knives, that sparked the DeVoto’s life-long friendship with Julia and Paul Child, and ultimately the publication of Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

After reading the article on knives, Julia sent a fan letter from Paris to Bernard. Avis, who read all of Bernard’s mail, responded. That was the beginning of a pen-pal relationship that led to Avis’s interest in Julia’s culinary work in France and their enduring friendship.

Avis soon learned that Julia was struggling to find a publisher for her newly completed cookbook. Avis and Bernard had many friends in the publishing business, so she first approached her friend and Lincoln neighbor, Paul Brooks, who was an editor at Houghton Mifflin.

But Houghton Mifflin had failed in its earlier attempt at cookbook publishing, so Avis moved her campaign to another friend and frequent dinner guest, Alfred Knopf. She would wow Alfred with dishes that she then revealed to be Julia’s recipes. Knopf took a gamble on the yet-unknown Julia Child, based on Avis’s urgings and her fabulous dinners. In all, a savory bit of Lincoln’s history.

Learn more about the Avis and Bernard DeVoto and their history as eco-warriors at the upcoming Bemis Free Lecture event on Thursday, Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. at Bemis Hall with Nate Schweber, author of This America of Ours: Bernard and Avis DeVoto and the Forgotten Fight to Save the Wilds. This event is sponsored by the Bemis Free Lecture Series, with the Friends of Minute Man National Park, the Lincoln Land Conservation Trust, the Lincoln Historical Society, and the Walden Woods Project.

Sara Mattes is a trustee of the Bemis Free Lecture Series and president of the Lincoln Historical Society. “Lincoln’s History” is an occasional column by the group. 

Tenants and visitors evacuated the commercial building along the railroad tracks on Friday, Sept. 1 after a malfunctioning bathroom ceiling fan started a small fire.

Lincoln firefighters responded to a fire alarm activation at the building at 160 Lincoln Rd. at 2:03 p.m. and found the fire in the ceiling fan of the women’s room on the second floor. Someone in the building had already used a fire extinguisher but the fire was not completely out, so firefighters used another extinguisher. Because a thermal imaging camera detected high temperatures in the ceiling, firefighters brought up a fire hose in case the fire had spread to the attic, but they didn’t need to use it, although the attic insulation had started to ignite.

Damage was limited to the ceiling and the floor littered with fire extinguisher material in the bathroom and hallway, as well as some burned insulation.

“The cause does appear to be electrical, but more importantly, thanks to working smoke detectors and early notification, the best possible outcome was accomplished. We would like to thank those bystanders for reporting and helping as well as all of our mutual aid partners for their assistance,” the Fire Department posted on its Facebook and Instagram pages. Units from Concord, Sudbury and Wayland also responded.

The Lincoln Review ceased publication in 2019 after more than 40 years — but now all of its back issues are available on the web where anyone can search and browse them.

The Lincoln Review was founded in 1977 by Ruth Hapgood, Nancy Bower, and Margaret Marsh “to provide residents and friends of the town of Lincoln with a small magazine or newsletter which will contain material of informational, educational, and literary interest.” Among its goals: “to bring back the history of the town to public awareness,” “to further literary ends by publishing good writing and by reviewing books; and in general, to provide a generally available means of public communication to further the cultural life of the town.”

Over the years, the Lincoln Review published thousands of news stories, artwork, poetry, historical articles, letters to the editor, and more. It was supported by advertising and subscriptions and was also sold at the Old Town Hall Exchange and Donelan’s. The last editors were longtime Lincoln residents Betty and Harold Smith.

After Harold’s death in 2019, Betty handed over the Lincoln Review’s reins to Lincoln Squirrel editor Alice Waugh, who reinvented it in digital-only form as the Lincoln Chipmunk with the help of donations and a grant from the Lincoln Cultural Council — but also wondered if there was a way to digitize the back issues stored at the Lincoln Public Library. Barbara Myles, then the library’s director, submitted a request in 2021 to Digital Commonwealth, a free service that scans documents and images that are important to Massachusetts cultural heritage and uploads them to the web.

There was a backlog due to technical issues and the pandemic, but Myles learned in February 2023 that Digital Commonwealth was back in full swing. After being told that the Lincoln Public Library would “move up the list significantly” if someone brought the issues to the Boston Public Library rather than waiting for pickup, Myles did so in March. Then came the day in July that Melissa Roderick, who recently succeeded Myles as library director, got word that the job was done.

The online collection of Lincoln Reviews can be viewed at archive.org/details/lincolnreview14linc. The link is also on the library’s website under Archives & Local History >> Research the Collection (scroll down to “Online Collections”). The library still has the paper issues as well, though you’ll need an appointment to access them.

In the early years, the publication had copy typed on a manual typewriter and hand-made ads. The first issue in March 1977 opens with piece by Conservation Commission member Bob Lemire (still a Lincoln resident) about Lincoln’s open space plan (other founding members who are still with us include Janet Boynton, Beverly Eckhardt, and Rhoda Taschiaglou). Later in the issue are pieces by people running for town office and the upcoming Annual Town Meeting, which would feature a measure asking residents to buy the town’s first ambulance. In contrast to ambulances of the time that resembled station wagons, “the vehicle would have to be one of those big van-type machines.”

Also in that issue: ads for Lincoln institutions like Doherty’s and the Clark Gallery as well as bygone businesses such as the Broken Bridle Leather Shop on Lewis Street, the Richardson Drug Company in the long red building in next to the railroad tracks, the Country Squire restaurant in the gray building directly across the tracks, and the Inside-Outside Home Decorating Studio (an early mall tenant).

The Lincoln Chipmunk publishes writing and artwork by anyone with a Lincoln connection. The next deadline is September 1; click here for submission details.